When I first started working from home, I rebelled like a teenager. After working in an office for so many years, I was eager to make my own schedule and do things my way. I found myself sleeping in, procrastinating on tasks, and scrambling to finish work in the evenings or on weekends. I had a new-found freedom, and I was determined to take advantage of it.
Thinking back, I recognize this phase in my work-from-home journey as “office detox.” I wanted to do everything I could to rid my routine of standard practices in most offices, just because I could. Psychologically, this was actually a necessary step for me. I needed to do all of the things I had previously been forbidden from doing during the work day to erase any rules or preconceived notions of what the work day was supposed to be.
Of course, once the pendulum had swung too far (sleeping all day, working all night, not having time for friends, etc.), I realized that, for my own wellness, my rebellion needed to end. At that point, I was able to come back to center, and I began creating habits and routines that worked for me. They may not have been “the norm” for an office worker, but they were the habits and routines best suited to me. I had to erase the lines previously drawn for me so I could draw new ones.
If you find yourself rebelling against standard work day routines because you are working from home, you may be going through office detox. That’s OK. It may be a necessary step to land in a better place. Embrace office detox (within reason - don’t get fired over it!) and use it as a tool to develop working-from-home habits that work for you.
Yours from afar,
Jeralyn